Some boats have what is known as a swim platform extending outwardly from the rear of the boat (stern). For many uses, the swim platform is stationary and provides added space and safety features. The added space is very useful when swimming from the back of the boat, providing a clear area for the swimmer to board the boat when finished swimming. For inboard/outboard boats, the swim platform provides additional safety by extending outward, over the propeller and the outdrive. This helps keep swimmers and divers away from the features, such as propellers, that sometimes come into contact with the swimmer/diver, causing injuries.
Another popular use for the swim platform is for transportation of a personal watercraft such as a dingy. For some light weight personal watercraft, such as canoes and kayaks, it is relatively easy for the user to slide the personal watercraft off the swim platform into the water and, somewhat easy for the user to get the personal watercraft back onto the swim platform after use. This is not the case for a heavier personal watercraft such as a jet ski, an inflatable boat with an outboard engine, a larger dingy for a yacht, etc. With such heavier watercraft, it is difficult or impossible for a user to manually deploy such watercraft and even harder to lift these heavy watercraft back onto the swim platform.
There are several known solutions for deploying such heavy watercraft. The first, often used on larger boats or yachts, is the use of a crane. The crane is used to lift the watercraft then swing the watercraft around for placement into the water adjacent to the boat. When finished with the watercraft, the crane is used to lift the watercraft for replacing it onto the swim platform of the boat. Cranes are well known and are useful for swim platform storage as well as storage of the personal watercraft at other locations on the boat.
Another solution for deploying the watercraft is to mechanically lower and lift the swim platform. The swim platform is lowered below the water surface so that the personal watercraft floats and is easily moved away from the boat. Likewise, to return the watercraft to the swim platform, the swim platform is again lowered beneath the surface of the water, the watercraft is positioned over the submerged swim platform, and then the swim platform is raised to a position where it is level with a deck of the boat. Such mechanical systems are usually hydraulic lift systems.
There are several problems with prior swim platforms that have mechanical systems to lower the watercraft (dingy, jet ski, etc.) into the water. First, the weight of the mechanical systems for lowering, the weight of the swim platform itself, and the weight of the watercraft greatly affect the center of gravity of the boat. This additional weight is especially disadvantageous for many boats that must get up “on plane” during cruising speeds, requiring more fuel and time to get on plane, and increasing the speed required to remain on plane. This results in a vast reduction in fuel economy.
Many prior swim platforms are fixed in place and well supported by the transom of the boat. The brackets that hold such swim platforms in place provide a very sturdy platform that does not bend when one steps onto the platform. It is very disconcerting for a boater to step on a swim platform that bends or oscillates up and down. Swim platforms that have mechanical systems to lower the watercraft often do not have this stiff, sturdy feel. When one steps onto a mechanically lowered/raised swim platform of the prior art, the swim platform bends or bounces, yielding an uneasy feeling. This is often due to the mechanical design of the system. Most conventional lifts leave their arms in a position where they perform as bending beams and are therefore susceptible to noticeable deflection.
What is needed is a mechanism that will raise and lower the swim platform of the boat and provide enhanced stability to the swim platform when the swim platform is in the raised position.